Carson is growing more and more alert each day! She started smiling this past weekend. It was so exciting! She smiled at me first and I started screaming for Jim. Of course once he came upstairs she made a liar out of me and was stone cold. It took a couple days but she finally smiled at Daddy. It's still not consistent enough to take a picture, but I caught a little one on video this afternoon while she was playing on her play mat. Smiling is most definitely the coolest thing she's done!

The least coolest thing Carson has done happened this past Sunday. Carson and I were rocking in the glider upstairs and I was on the phone catching up with a friend. As I was finishing the conversation, I looked down and I saw a small orange stain peeking through her onesie. I knew at that moment that it wasn't going to end well. I took Carson to the changing table and my worst fears were revealed in the tiny offwhite onesie. It was there I found our very first blow out. The kind that went up the front of her stomach to the point that if I took her shirt off as it was, she was sure to eat poo. Being the mature parents that we are I started screaming for Jim to come upstairs and he proceeded to take a picture with his phone (Lord help our child). We took her to the bathroom where Jim held her by her armpits and I sprayed her down with the hose. It was a scene from Three Men and a Baby. It was definitely an experience. The only thing worse was when she did it AGAIN out the back later that night. Oh the joys of parenthood.

Becki and Charley came to visit! Carson was such a good girl. She sat in her swing today without crying about it! That's where she napped so while Mommy ate lunch and played with Charley. Charley was very nice to her friend Carson. She showed her how she can stand up and crawl. I'm pretty sure she would have shared her puffs with her if Carson was just a little bit older :) I can't believe that Charley is 8 months old already. It's just a reminder about how fast the time is going to fly. I feel like it wasn't too long ago that we were visiting Charley in the hospital. At the time, though no one knew, Carson was already in my belly. In less than a year we found out we were pregnant, had Carson and our lives have changed drastically. In the next year our little girl will go from an infant to a bouncy toddler. So many changes ahead... but we'll take it one day at a time.

Can you believe that our little Carson is a whole month old?!?!? This month has gone by so quickly, yet it seems like she has been with us forever! Carson had an eventful day on her one month birthday. We went to Rockville United with Grammy and Grandpa. She was able to meet all their friends at church and wore the dress that her Aunt Andrea and Cousin Audrey wore when they were babies. Then we spent the afternoon visiting with the Fryes and the Meadows. It was the first time that Carson met her Cousin Tyler.

We were able to celebrate Carson's one month birthday with lots of food and watched the 45th Superbowl. Our friends Lisa and Neal came over and we had a great time playing with Carson and watching the million dollar commercials.

We go back to the pediatrician on Wednesday to find out just how much she has grown. We can't wait to see!

It has been a very busy week for our little girl. I guess there will be a lot of "firsts" in her first year of life and it may get old to you.... but not to me :) So here are the big firsts this week.

Friday 1/28: It was the first time mommy took Carson out of the house by herself. She drove all the way to Grandma's house in Ellicott City. It was nerve-wrecking leaving the driveway and heading out on the open road, but I managed just fine. Once at Grandma's Carson met Bailey. I have never seen Bailey so jealous! Every time my mom paid more attention to her he would get upset and bark. After meeting Bailey, Carson went on her first girls' shopping trip. Mom and I took her over to Hallmark, Old Navy, Michael's and Target. Carson LOVED it... and when I say love I mean she slept the whole time.

Saturday 1/29: FIRST GIRLS' DAY! Mommy's best friends came over to see Carson. It was the first time Maureen and Biff met her. She was great in the afternoon but got fussy in the evening. Everyone loved doting on her and talking about girlie things. It was also the first time I left Carson for more than an hour to go out to dinner with the girls. Daddy did great and Carson was happy when we returned home.

Sunday 1/30: First day in Grandma and Grandpa's church. Carson went to South Columbia Baptist Church to meet all our friends there. She wore a dress that was Grandma's when she was a baby. She was so good the whole service. She just sat in Grandpa's lap and stared at the lights. We spent the afternoon in Ellicott City visiting with Grandpa while he was in town.

Wednesday 2/2: We went to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital for Carson's hip sonogram. That was not an enjoyable event. I felt so bad for Carson because she was cold and did not like how her legs were being contorted to get the sonogram pictures. We finished the day with Carson's first dinner out. Mommy and Daddy went to Wasabi Zen, our favorite place to get sushi in Olney. She was an angel sleeping the whole dinner. I was so excited to eat real sushi, it was the first time since I found out I was pregnant. Thursday, however, told us that Carson does not enjoy sushi as much, so it may be a while until we got out and feast on sushi again.

Thursday 2/3: Mommy took Carson to Target all by herself for the very first time. She was great for about 10 minutes and then started getting upset. I got nervous and hurried up to get the necessities and we left. It was a successful trip, but we'll need a little more practice... good thing I still have another month of leave left :)

Friday 2/4: Grammy came over and helped with Carson's spa time. Carson loves hanging out with Grammy. Carson didn't enjoy it any more than usual, but I'm confident that one day she will LOVE bath time.